Travels to the Edge

The magical images of conservation photographer Art Wolfe capture the boundless grace and magnificence of the world around us. Wolfe says that “it is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”

His photos don’t just masterfully blend color, composition and perspective. They also reflect living beings—flora, fauna, and animals of all kinds—in their native state of existence in both natural and built environments.

Wolfe is as skillful at capturing the essence of an aboriginal tribesman as he is at imbuing an Arctic icicle with the life of the pre-dawn morning. But the preciousness of his work does not actually reside in his exquisitely intimate photos, or in any of his eighty published books, or even in his syndicated television show, “Travels the Edge”. The real treasure is the impetus behind his work—a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship.

Focusing his lens on the seam between habitat and inhabitant, Wolfe is able to relay a powerful story about the duty of protection and necessity of preservation without a single word.

By carefully designing and constructing each image, Wolfe is able to immortalize subjects and educate viewers. Wolfe’s architectural approach to photography enables him to translate his message into a language that those of us committed to sustainability within the building industry can certainly relate to, and his ability to delicately balance the intimate and the infinite within one image reflects a level of mastery that we can all aspire to achieve.

I encourage you to join Green Builder Media on August 8 at 11PT/2ET for an exclusive interview with Wolfe on our Impact Series: Game Changers in Sustainability webinar program. The candid discussion between our President, Ron Jones, and Wolfe will explore the changes that Wolfe has seen over the course of his prolific 30 year career in the natural and built environments, the adaptations that the occupants of those environments have been forced to make in order to survive, and the ways in which Wolfe has been able to use his art to encourage conservation efforts across the globe.

What changes have you seen in the natural and built environments around you? Write to me at sara@greenbuildermag.com, follow me on Twitter @SaraGBM.

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